Marketing on Tourism in Karbala

By: Sabaa Saed Fadhil

Supervised by: Lect. Dr. Dhiaa Radhi Al-Safi

Karbala Governorate is a spring that pulsates with history, heritage and beauty with its environmentally related tourism types spread throughout the governorate.

It is also characterized by religious tourism, which means tourism based on visiting religious places and holy shrines, as the city embraces the shrine of the Master of Martyrs, Imam Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Great Messenger, may God bless him and his pure family, and his brother Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas and his family who were martyred in the historic Karbala incident, which gave it great importance to millions of people around the world.

There are also many archaeological sites spread across its lands, which are an important tourist outlet in the city, which are represented in the caves of Al-Tar, Al-Akhdar Fort, Khan Al-Rub, Lake Al-Razzazah, water springs and the drop of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in Ain Al-Tamr.

While Karbala Governorate is famous for the spread of many agricultural areas and large farms, and these tourist elements are only available in few areas of the world (Al-Baghdadi, 2016: p. 558).

Map (1) shows some places that have gained religious and historical importance for local and foreign visitors (Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, General Directorate of Urban Planning, Karbala Governorate Spatial Rural Development Project for the year 2008).

Map (1) Components of environmental tourism in the holy Karbala Governorate.
Karbala has known the concept of tourism for a long time, and despite the multiple opinions on the factors of its establishment, today it represents an important religious presence in the history of modern and contemporary Iraq, and it is called by urban geographers (cities of shrines) or pilgrimage cities, and it is the most distinguished among other local religious cities in the speed of its establishment and formation. [1](Khalili, 1966: p. 1).
Tourism media has also become an influential factor in tourism demand in the holy city of Karbala, in addition to the development of modern media and communication methods that contribute to increasing the pace of tourism demand in it, especially its transmission of the ritual of the tenth of Muharram, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him).
There has been a clear and increasing interest from tourism institutions to determine the needs and desires of tourists and study and analyze their behavior, which is considered one of the most important marketing activities in the tourism sector, as it has become necessary for these institutions to excel in presenting their products in line with the needs of tourists and their financial capabilities.
The tourism services provided in the city are integrated services that attract tourists and achieve economic resources. For example, hotels have become institutions that contain the hospitality industry in a modern way using various electronic tourism marketing tools. Electronic marketing currently plays an effective role in revitalizing the tourism sector, especially religious tourism to the holy city of Karbala, due to the role it plays in introducing the various services provided by the city’s tourism institutions. (Al-Taie, 2019: p. 382).